Valve



Sept 2 '1924.

J. F. RoBERTsoN VALVE FWG. 2

Ilv

Filed Dec. 13.

FIG. 1

lVIE TOR Patented Sept. 2v, 1924.

AUNITED STATES 17,507,001 PATENT o-FFICE..

lJOHN F. ROIBIE.R,'.T.SON, OF BELLEVUE, FENNSYLVANIA; lNELLIE ECKERTROBERTSON ADMINISTRATRIX OF `SAID JOHN F. ROBERTSON, DECEASED.

v VALVE.

Application led December 13, 1920. Serial No. 436,380. i

One object of my invention is to provide a device for indicating theleakage of fluid past a. closed valve. A Y Another object of myinvention is toprovide means for entrapping fluid that may leak pastavalve, and for conducting such leakage fluid to the outer atmosphere.

A ,further object of my invention is to provide means for preventing thebackward flow of fluid through a valve and for there-V by insuring thesafety of boiler systems having several blow-out valves.

The blow-out valve of a Vboiler is subjected to rapid wear, -on accountof the" scale/ and dirt that are blown ont through the valve with thewaste water. VThen thusv worn, the valve becomes leaky, and even beforethe working parts are scored so as 'not' to seat properly, particles ofscale may stick on the valve or on its seat andmay hold theA valvepartly open; or a careless operator may fail to close the valveperfect-ly tight.

For all'of these reasons, leakage; through;

blow-out valves is 'a frequentsourcev of loss, extra fuel beingrequiredto keep up the normal boiler efficiency. Although the -im`-portance of keeping blowout valves tightly closed has been recognized,there has never been an'yL way of telling positivelyfvwhether anyparticular valve ina boiler ysystem is lea-king or not. The amount ofwater flowing from the drainfpipeshows 'the total leakage in the system,but gives noindication as to which blow-out valve is at fault. r

My presentV invention aimsr primarily to provide a valve attachment,either ;built in withthe valve or added as an additional fitting, by`which the leakage of fluid past lthe. valve will be vpositively.and-quickly shown. I preferfto do this by entrapping the leakage fluidand conducting. ,it to thewhich extends across the path of fluid flow,`

on the discharge side of the main valve, and

collects any fluid'that may leak past the main valve, conducting thisfluid to a channel which, at this time, is open to the air. When themain valve is opened, the auxiliary clapper valve member is deflected toonel side, thereby closing thev channel and preventing the escape offluidVV while the main valve is open. I

In addition to collecting leakage fluid, the auxiliary' clapper' :memberperforms the function of a safety check, by preventing back pressurefrom forcing fluid kbackward through the valve. Thisis an importantadvantage, because it sometimes happens that? when one boiler in asystem is shut down for cleaning or repairs,va workman may enter theboiler without carefully closing theblow-j out valve.. If then anotherboiler in the systemv is blown out, `the pressure iny the.v waste linewill force'hot water or steam'- into the idle boiler and'mayscald theworkman. y

The.accompanying drawing shows a wellknowntype of vblow-out valveequippedwith a leakage indicator andV safety checkcon-l structed inkaccordance with my finvention. Fig. lis a verticalsection through thevalve, showing .thervalve closed; Fig. 2 is a side view, partlyinelevation and partly-in' section, showing the valve open; Fig. 3 is ahorizontal sectional view taken substantiallyv on the line"33,`Fi`g. l;Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing my linvention constructed asa separate fitting,instead of bei ing builtin with the valve; and Fig. 5is a side view. of a portion ofthe valve showing the leakage 'outlet invvertical section, the section being taken substantially on the line 5 5,Fig. 3. -1 f- The valve shownl in` the drawing com! prises a casing 12provided with an inlet port 3, an outlet port 4,1'a head ysecured to thel A casing Q'by means'r of bolts 6, and a valve member' 7 lsecured ytoVthe lower end of a; screw 8 which extends through a threaded sleeve `9and a gland 10, vand isfprovided :at its upper'end with'a hand wheel4ll. 'The .under side of the valve member 7 is provided with a plate 12which is adaptedto engage a soft metal Aring 13 which."form's v. l,

thefvalve seat;v .Y l.

The parts of the valve thus far described are all 'ofordinary;constructionv and are here shown.. merely for the Ypurpose ofkillustrating my invention, it being vunderstood that my invention mayalso he applied to any other type of valve.

YBelow the ring 13, the casing 2 isy provided with an annular flange 15correspond-` ing in size and shape to a flange 16 formed around the edgeof a clapper valve member 17. The member 17 thus forms a shallowreceptacle, having its bottom sloping downward into communication withthe bore 18 of a hollow shaft 19, one end of which is received in ahushed bearing 20 carried by a door plate 2l which covers an opening inthe casing 2 and is secured in place by means of bolts 22. The other endof the hollow shaft 19 extends through and beyond a bearing 23containing a suitable bushing 241, and is closed at its free end bymeans of' a screw plug 25, which may be removed for cleaning the insideof the device.

Two small openings 26 are formed in the wall of the hollow shaft 19within the bearing 23 and these openings provide communication betweenthe bore 18 of the shafty and a short tube 27 which is screwed into thebearing 23 and communicates with the atmosphere. An arm 28 is keyed tothe outer end of the shaft 19 and earriesa weight 29 which normallymaintains the chipper valve 17 in the' position shown indripping throughit will clear the bottom flange 30 of the valve casing. Theend 'of thistube may be left-free, and the ,dr-ipv received in any suitable vessel,or it may be arranged to-drip into a waste pipe, a space being leftbelow the end of the tube so that the. operator can always see whetherleakage water is flowing or not.

The form of my device shown in Fig. 4 is similar in vconstruction tothat described above, except that it is made as a separate fitting, witha casing 35 having upper and lowerflanges '36, similar to the flange 30in Fig. 1, for inserting the device ina pipe line on the discharge sideof the valve to be con? trolled. By employing such a separateiitting, myinvention may be applied lto any standard form of blow-out valve or toany other kind of valvewhe-re Yit isv desired to` indicate the leakageof steam, water or other fluid. Y

lVhen the valve member 7 is raised by turning the hand wheel 11, wastewater passes from the boiler through the inlet port 3 and the ring 13,deflects the clappervalve member 17 into the posit-ion shown in Fig. 2,

and passes out through the outlet port` L This movementhof the clappervalve 17 turns the openings 26' away from the tube 27 and thewaterpassing through the valve is therefore unable to esca-pe from the casingthrough the tube 27.' In the position shown in Fig. 2 the clapper valveis entirely out of the way, and neither offers resist-ance maintainedboth by ytheweight 29 and byl If the valve the back-pressure in theline. member 7 should not be tightly seated on the ring 13, the fluidwhich leaks aroundthe valve member will pass down into the shallowreceptacle forme-d by the flange 16 and through the bore 18, theopenings 26 and the tube 27, to the outer air.' This leakage fluid canbe seen dripping from the tube 27 and the Yoperator can thus plainly seethat the valve is not tightly closed.

Any considerable leakage will also be shown by the position of the arm28, since if the main valveY leaks enough to produce a substantialpressure on the clapper valve 17, the clapper valve will be forced downsomewhat and will raise the arm 28. The arm 28 also indicates by itsmovement whether the main valve is operating prop-- erly, by rising whenthe main valve =is opened and descending when the main valve is closed.

The arm 28 may also be employed'for' in.-`

dicatingthe number of times that the boiler is blown out in a givenperiod by applying` a `counting mechanism ol any suitable constructionto be operated by the oscillations of the arm 28', and to indicate thenumber ofV such oscillations.

vWhile I have herein shown and'described in detail one desirable form inwhich I have applied my invention, it will be understood that theinvention may also be applied fto many other forms of valves and thatthe details of construction may be changed in various respects accordingto circumstances. I therefore desire that `no limitations be imposedupon my invent-ion except such as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

lVhen the Vmain 4 1. Means for indicating leakage of fluid through avalve, in combination with means for automatically rendering thefirst-named! inoperative during normal flow means through the valve.

v2. Means for indicating leakage of fluid through a valve and forpreventing kback- Witl'l flow of fluid through saldvalve. l

Means for entrapping fluidA leaking through a valve and for conductingsaid fluid to the outer atmosphereal. A valve provided With means forindieating leakage of' fluid therethrough and means for rendering thefirst-named means inoperative during normal flow through the valve.

eating leakage Aof fluid therethrough and for preventing backward flovv`of fluid through' said valve. p

6. A valve'pr'ovided with means for entrapping fluid leakingtherethrough and for conducting said outer at-niosphere.

7. A valve provided, on'it-s discharge side, with means for establishinga channel to the outer atmosphere and for conductingV leakage fluid intosaid channeL-and means for closing the said channel when the said valveis opened.

8, A valve having a main valve member, an auxiliary check valve memberon the discharge side of the said main valve member, and meansassociated with the said check valve member for indicating leakagev ofHuid past said main valve member.

9. A valve having a main valve member, an auxiliary check valve memberon the discharge side of the said main valve member, and meansassociated with the said` check yalve member for entrapping fluidleaking past said main valve member and for con-V ducting said entrappedfluid to the outer atmosphere.

10. A valve having a main movable valve member. a pivotally movableauxiliary valve member on the discharge side of the said main valvemember and in the path of flow through said main valve member, andgravity-operable means, visible from the outside of the said valve, forindicating the posit-ion of the said auxiliary valve member.

11. A valve having a main movable valve member, a pivotally movableauxiliary valve member on the discharge side of the said main valvemember, gravity-operable means, visible from the outside of the saidvalve, for indicating the position of the said auxiliary valve member.and means associated With the said auxiliary member for conducting tothe outer atmosphere any fluid that may leak past the said main valvemember.

12. A valve having a main movablevalve member, a pivotally movableauxiliary valve entrapped fluid to theA 13. A valve attachmentcomprising a pivotally mounted clapper valve member, means for normallymaintaining the said member in position across a path'of fluid flow, andmeans for conductingto the outer atmosphere any fluid that may reach thesaid member while the said member is in its said normal position. v 5. Avalve provided with means for indi-v the outer atmosphere any fluid thatmayV reach the saidmember While the said'm'ember is in its said normalposition.

15. A valveattachment comprising a casing provided with an annular seat,a' clap'- per valve member having a flange forming a receptacle forreceiving leakage fluid, the said `flange being adapted to engage thesaid seat, and means for conducting fluid from the said receptacle tothe outer atmosphere.

16. A valve attachment comprising a. casing provided with an annularseat, a clapper valve member having a flange forming` a receptacle forreceiving leakage fluid.Y the said flange being adapted to engage thevsaid seat, IneansV for conducting fluidfrom the said member to theouter atmosphere, and means for closing communication bet-WeenV the saidmember and the outer atmosphere when the said member is moved avvay fromthe said seat.

17. A valve attachment comprising a casing provided with an annularseat, a clapper valve member having a flange forming a receptacle forreceiving leakage fluid, meansV sor for receiving leakage fluid`a-liolloW shaft carrying the said valve member and having its internalbore in communication with the said receptacle, a tubular dischargemember disposed adjacent to the said shaft and communicating with anopening formed in the Wall of the said hollow shaft, an arm secured tothe said shaft, and a Weight carried by the said arm and normallymaintaining.

the said flange against the said seat.

19. A valve attachment comprising a casing provided With an annularseat, a clapper valve member having a. flange forming a receptacle forVreceiving leakage fluid, a hollow rock shaft Carrying the said valvemeinbei` and also cairying a lateral arm,y a Weight carried by the saidarm and normally maintaining the Said flange in engagement with the saidseatand a tubular member having one end disposed adjacent to the saidshaft andA having its, @than endg` open to the atmosphere, the Saidshaft having an opening in its Wall communicating with the said tubularmember when the said valve member engages the said seat.

2Q. A valve attachment keozrhprieing a oas;v ing provided with anannular seat, av hollow rook shaft carriedv in bearings, in the said(asing, a dapper valve member carried by the Seid shaft and having a{ia-nge eroi-1nd its upper edge adapted to engage beneath the said seatand forming a receptacle having its bottom inclined downwardly towardthe said rock shaftand communicating with the 'bore of the said shaft,an arm carried by the said shaft, a weight Carried by the Said arm andthermally maintaining the said:

in, 011e ef the Said bea-rings adjacent te the Seei Shat and. lievilne-`ite Othel endopenzte the atmosphere, the said shaft having al) openingin its Wall eornrvnunicating with the Seid tubular member when the saideleppei-` valve is in peeiten against the seid seat, the said openingbeing out of communie-ation with the lseid tubular member when the Seiddapper valve iS deplaeed from, the seid Seat. in teetimeny wheree l, theseid. Joint F ROBERTSON, have hereunto Set hand.

JOHN F.. ROBERTSON.. Witnesses.:

Jenn E. Weel, EMT-H K. Eigenen.

